Writing implement, in particular a pen

ABSTRACT

A writing instrument, notably a pen, comprising a body ( 1   a   , 1   b ) characterized in that this body or a fitted piece comprises at least one housing ( 6 ) having a transparent outer wall ( 7 ). The height of this housing ( 6 ) between its bottom and said transparent outer wall ( 7 ) is substantially constant, at least one movable decorative element ( 9 ) such as a diamond being movably mounted inside said housing ( 6 ), at least one of the dimensions of the movable element perpendicular to said height being substantially less than the corresponding dimension of the housing ( 6 ). This movable decorative element ( 9 ) is mounted in a support comprising two guide surfaces ( 10   a   , 10   b ) adjacent to the said bottom ( 6   a ) and to said transparent wall ( 7 ) respectively, these surfaces allowing random movement in translation and in rotation of said decorative element ( 9 ) about itself inside said housing ( 6 ).

The present invention relates to a writing instrument, notably a penhaving a body.

There are various ways of imparting an original and pleasing appearanceto a pen's body, notably of a luxury pen, to differentiate it from anordinary pen. An original appearance can result from the materials used,the shape, surface treatments, decorative effects, or from addedelements.

In decorative research relating to pens, EP-A1-0 469 388 has alreadyproposed a writing instrument having at its end a mobile part that movesin response to actuation of an actuating member of the pen, moving apartlike the petals of a flower to uncover a fixed decorative element lodgedthereunder.

There have been many other proposals for giving a pen a specialdecorative effect. FR-A-1 309 159 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,523 can becited. However, one has to conclude that the functional cylindricalshape of this instrument considerably limits creators' freedom such thatin this area there are not many original new designs, or the proposalsare extravagant. For example, those in the above-indicated document donot correspond to expectations as regards luxury watches, whosepurchasers would only find acceptable such design variations as wouldreflect good taste.

It has already been proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,712 whichcorresponds to the precharacterizing part of claim 1, to include amovable decorative element inside a housing provided at the end of apen. However, to achieve this objective, it was necessary to deviatefrom the ergonomical shape of the pen which is generally cylindrical,sometimes with an annular concave gripping zone. This document indeedspecifies that by making the pen body with a conical shape to the penbody it is possible to increase the area of its end so as to incorporatea decorative element in a housing closed by a transparent wall.Moreover, the decorative element is formed by a ball which is entirelyfree to move in the housing. Clearly, such a writing instrument with aconical body is an object of fancy and has nothing to do with luxurypens which first and foremost must meet up to ergonomical requirements,which obviously is not so for the conical shape.

It has already been proposed in FR 704 214 and in GB-2 004 096 tocombine a watch and a pen into a single item by securing a miniaturewatch at the end of a pen cap, or onto an enlarged end of a pen. Thiscombination of two different objects on a common support is essentiallyfor utilitarian purposes.

A watch having a housing inside its case, wherein a decorative elementis movable parallel to itself has been described in CH 609 517.

From the above, it can be seen that a movable object has already beenassociated with a housing provided in an end of a pen, whereby it isvisible through a transparent wall of the housing which forms the largebase of a conical body. It has been proposed to miniaturize a watch sothat it can be fitted on the end of a pen, and a housing has beenprovided inside a watch case in which decorative elements are movableparallel to themselves.

According on the one hand to the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No.4,217,712, the shape of the pen has been modified to fit a mobiledecorative element. On the other hand, a watch has been miniaturized tofit it on the end of a pen cap.

In the above-mentioned CH 609 517 which concerns a watch, a space wasleft corresponding to the dial or surrounding the dial, in which ahousing was provided to receive decorative movable elements. Clearly,the teaching of CH 609 517 cannot be applied directly to a pen whosedimensions, in particular the diameter of a cylindrical body, arelimited by ergonomic considerations. This is not so far a watch, atleast to the same degree. Taking all this into account, it is neitherpossible to deviate from the cylindrical shape of a pen withoutadversely affecting its aesthetic appearance and its function, nor canthe diameter of its cylindrical body be varied except within specifiedsmall limits.

Taking into account these dimensional constraints, it would beconceivable to set a diamond in an end of a pen's body to provide aluxurious appearance, but without providing any special effect.

An aim of the present invention is to produce an original decorativeeffect from the glittering of a movable element applied to a writinginstrument which is embodied in the shape of a fountain pen, whileproducing a new aspect relative to conventional pens.

For this purpose, this invention concerns a writing instrument, notablya pen, comprising a body having a housing at least at one of its ends,the housing having a transparent outer wall, the height of this housingbetween its bottom and said transparent outer wall being substantiallyconstant, at least one movable decorative element being movably mountedinside said housing, at least one of the dimensions of the movableelement perpendicular to said height being substantially less than thecorresponding dimension of the housing.

According to the invention, this writing instrument is characterized inthat said decorative element comprises a lateral surface extending inthe direction of the height of said housing, one end of this decorativeelement being shaped so that it contacts the adjacent wall of thehousing only in a zone situated in the centre thereof to form a firstguide means, whereas the other end is shaped to come into contact withthe adjacent wall of said housing by the edge of its lateral surface toform a second guide means. A small play is left between the height ofsaid housing and the axial distance between said height and the guidemeans, such that movement of this decorative element inside said housingis limited to a random movement in translation and/or in rotation aboutsaid central contact zone.

The proposed solution has the advantage that it can perfectly be adaptedto a fountain pen and integrate into its shape. Specifically, it enablesthe housing to be provided in a separate part that is screwed to the endof a cap, most expensive pens already having such a screwed part.

The use of a precious stone, for instance a diamond, as movabledecorative element enables the luxurious aspect of a quality pen to beenhanced while procuring an original and unexpected appearance resultingnotably from the glittering of this precious stone as it moves at randomin translation and/or rotates about itself.

The accompanying drawing shows, schematically and by way of example, anembodiment of a fountain pen according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part of the end of FIG. 1 with a cut-awaypart shown in cross-section.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, with the movable decorative elementlocated centrally.

The pen shown in FIG. 1 has a body in two parts 1 a,1 b correspondingrespectively to the cap and main body of the pen, and which are screwedor clipped together in the usual way.

A part 2, having a threaded cylindrical section 3 (FIG. 2) and an endpiece 4 forming the pen's end, is screwed on the cap opposite itscentral recess receiving the pen's main body 1 b. The shoulder 2 abetween the threaded section 3 and the cap's end-part 4 serves to securea ring 5 a integral with a clip 5 designed for attachment of the pen inparticular to the edge of a jacket pocket.

The part 4 comprises a housing 6, which in this example is cylindrical,centered on the axis of the generally cylindrical body 1 a,1 b whosediameter at the ends is no greater than the diameter of the main bodywhich, in this example, is slightly curved. This housing 6 has anopening coinciding with its end face adjacent to the end of part 4. Thisopening is closed by a flat sapphire glass 7 having a dished outer face.This glass is secured to the edge of this opening by a sealing ring 8parallel to the bottom 6 a of housing 6.

As can be seen on FIG. 2, the internal faces of the glass 7 and of thebottom 6 a are flat and parallel so that the housing 6 has a constantheight. This housing 6 encloses a movable decorative element which, inthis example, is a diamond 9 secured in a support 10, for example ofgold of another precious metal. This support 10 is designed to hold thediamond in a given position and to allow it to move parallel to itselfinside the housing 6, and to turn around itself. For this, the support10 in this example is shaped as an internally hollow cylinder thatreceives the diamond 9. The bottom 10 a of this cylinder, adjacent tothe smooth bottom 6 a of the housing 6 constitutes a convex first guidesurface to reduce friction and to facilitate rotation of the diamondabout itself. The lateral wall of support 10 surrounds the diamond 9 andslightly extends beyond the level of the upper face of the diamond toprevent contact between the diamond 9 and the sapphire glass 7.

As can be seen on FIG. 2, a slight play is provided between the edge 10b of the support 10 and the glass 7, leaving the support 10 free to movein translation and to rotate about itself, without jumping. The edge 10b of this lateral wall adjacent the sapphire glass 7 constitutes asecond guide-surface. The two guide surfaces ensure movement of thesupport and hence of the movable decorative element 9 in randomtranslational movement inside the housing 6, as illustrated by thearrows in FIG. 3. This random translational movement of the decorativeelement occurs together with a rotation about its axis of revolution,which increases the diamond's glittering effect. As a variation, theglass 7 could have a flat external face instead of being curved as shownin FIG. 2.

A watch fitted with such movable decorative elements 9 and supports 10is already described in CH-609 517. These movable decorative elementsare mounted in a housing provided between the watch glass and a secondunderlying transparent wall, parallel to the glass. Thanks to the guidemeans associated with the support and cooperating with these twoparallel transparent surfaces, the movable decorative element visiblethrough the watch glass can move in translation and rotate at random.The same principle has been applied to luxury jewelry items, notablypendants and rings, as well as to luxury spectacle frames as jewelryitems, also comprising movable decorative elements between two glasses.

A fountain pen, because of the cylindrical shape of its body and becausethe body neither has a housing nor a glass, does not allow theincorporation of such a movable decorative element without anymodification.

Whereas the movable decorative element has been known already for twentyyears for watches, it has to be observed that no modification of adecorative element of this type has yet been proposed to adapt it topens, despite the great success in the field of luxury watches.

It is possible to envisage other shapes for the movable decorativeelements or their mounting support than those illustrated. It is forinstance possible to have a heart-shaped, half-moon shaped, orball-shaped element, carrying one or more diamonds to cite but a fewpossible variations.

The internal surface of the glass 7 and the smooth surface of the bottomof housing 6 are parallel in order to ensure a translational androtational movement of the movable decorative element, without wear.

Although a housing has been shown that opens at the end of the pen'sbody, it would also be possible to envisage an annular housing having atransparent window constituted by a transparent portion of the lateralwall of the body 1 a or 1 b. In this example, one or more movabledecorative elements 9,10 could be placed in this annular housingcentered as the body's longitudinal axis, these decorative elementsbeing free to turn about the longitudinal axis of the body 1 a,1 b.

As a variation, it would also be possible to secure the piece 2 to theother end of the pen's body 1 b, or provide a piece 2 at each end.

Screwing this piece 2 to an end of the body may be provided by means ofa sleeve (not shown) of a wear-resistant material, for example of metal.This sleeve could itself be screwed into a suitably-dimensional recess.

In a variation, the housing 6 for containing the diamond 9 and itssupport 10 could be directly made in the pen's body 1 a, in particularby a machining operation.

It would also be possible to secure the piece 2 by means of threescrews, either in the cap 1 a through three bores through the bottom 6 aof housing 6, or in the bottom 6 from inside the cap 1 a. The piece 2could also be stuck on the cap 1 a by an adhesive, or in a housingprovided therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A writing instrument, comprising a body (1 a, 1b) having a longitudinal axis and a housing (6) at least at one of itsends, the housing having a transparent outer wall (7), the height ofthis housing (6) between its bottom and said transparent outer wall (7)being substantially constant, at least one movable decorative element(9, 10) being movably mounted inside said housing (6), at least one ofthe dimensions of the movable element perpendicular to said height beingsubstantially less than a corresponding dimension of the housing,characterized in that said decorative element (9, 10) comprises alateral surface extending in the direction of the height of said housing(6), one end (10 a) of this decorative element being shaped so that itcontacts an adjacent wall of the housing (6) only in a zone situated inthe center thereof to form a first guide means, whereas the other end isshaped to come into contact with an adjacent wall of said housing (6) byan edge (10 b) of its lateral surface to form a second guide means, asmall play being left between said housing (6) and the guide means, suchthat movement of this decorative element (9, 10) inside said housing islimited to a random movement in translation and in rotation about saidcentral contact zone.
 2. A writing instrument according to claim 1,characterized in that said housing is centered on the longitudinal axisof said body (1 a, 1 b).
 3. A writing instrument according to claim 1,characterized in that said transparent wall (7) forms one end along thelongitudinal axis of said body (1 a, 1 b).
 4. A writing instrumentaccording to claim 1, characterized in that said transparent wall isconstituted by an axial part of said body (1 a, 1 b).
 5. A writinginstrument according to claim 1, characterized in that said decorativeelement (9) is a precious stone mounted in a support (10).
 6. A writinginstrument according to claim 5, characterized in that said support (10)has a convex surface (10 a) constituting a guide surface acting againstthe bottom of said housing (6).
 7. A writing instrument according toclaim 6, characterized in that said housing (6) is provided in a part(2) fitted on said body (1 a, 1 b).
 8. A writing instrument according toclaim 7, characterized in that said fitted part (2) comprises a threadedcylindrical securing part (3), threadably engaged in a correspondingthread inside a closure cap (1 a) of the writing instrument, a base ofthe cylindrical part (3) having a shoulder (2 a), an annular part (5 a)of a securing clip (5) of the writing instrument being gripped betweenthis shoulder (2 a) and the end of the pen.
 9. A writing instrument,comprising a body (1 a, 1 b) having a longitudinal axis and a housing(6) at least at one of its ends, the housing having a transparent outerwall (7), the height of this housing (6) between its bottom and saidtransparent outer wall (7) being substantially constant, at least onemovable decorative element (9, 10) being movably mounted inside saidhousing (6), at least one of the dimensions of the movable elementperpendicular to said height being substantially less than acorresponding dimension of the housing, characterized in that saiddecorative element (9, 10) comprises a lateral surface extending in thedirection of the height of said housing (6), one end (10 a) of thisdecorative element being shaped so that it contacts an adjacent wall ofthe housing (6) only in a zone situated in the center thereof to form afirst guide means, whereas the other end is shaped to come into contactwith an adjacent wall of said housing (6) by an edge (10 b) of itslateral surface to form a second guide means, a small play being leftbetween said housing (6) and the guide means, such that movement of thisdecorative element (9, 10) inside said housing is limited to a randommovement in translation and in rotation about said central contact zoneand means for removably joining the housing to the body.